This invention relates drain configurations generally, and more particularly, to a configuration for a base for a barrier-free shower enclosure which inhibits water from escaping through the barrier-free entrance to the shower enclosure.
So-called barrier-free shower enclosures have, at their entrance, no raised portion or lip. The advantage and purpose of such a configuration is to enable a person in a wheelchair to enter or be easily wheeled into the enclosure. The disadvantage of a such a configuration is that no barrier exists to prevent water from running out over the base at the entrance and onto the floor adjoining the enclosure.
Traditional shower bases have a centrally located drain hole, usually with the base, on all surfaces, angled downwardly towards the drain. When there is a front barrier in the form of either a shower curtain, or a rigid sliding shower door, water exiting the shower head, or splashed within the enclosure, runs down the walls of the enclosure, and down the curtain or door. The water is thereby channeled toward the drain located in the base or floor of the enclosure. With a barrier-free configuration, this structure works on three of the four sides, but not on the fourth side, which is the entrance side of the barrier free enclosure.
The present invention is a base for a barrier-free shower enclosure having the combined configuration of a drain sump and drain, and a series of channels formed into the base of the shower enclosure which trap water within the shower enclosure and channel the water toward the drain sump. The channels are formed adjacent to opening, or entrance side, of the enclosure. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to present a configuration of a drain sump, drain, and channels that inhibit the water from escaping the opening of a barrier-free shower enclosure.